The Governor's proposal for the NY State Budget is out. I'm a little familiar with how government budgets work, having spent 12 years on a Board of Education. But this one has me flummoxed. I don't understand the priorities selected, nor do I understand how someone could be proud of this proposal.
That being said, I have a few observations:
It is all just numbers on a piece of paper. When it comes to a household budget, you know your income, your expenses and how to balance them. The state budget numbers are so large that they are meaningless. No one equates any of the numbers with a real dollar amount, as in I have to write a check for that. What's a billion here or there?
Many government workers have never owned a business or worked in a business that has to look at cash flow and long term planning. Filling in one more form or going through one more department doesn't affect the bottom line of their department, so why should it matter? I've had to cut employees' hours, order differently, change priorities, streamline.
Legislation is a terrible way to solve problems. Whatever the problem in your community, pass a law to solve it. Then, leave the law on the books forever and never update anything. Someone gets injured in an accident, let's pass a law. The fact that costs such as safety equipment, new construction, different materials, isn't on the radar screen. But, even though you have to provide an extra piece of equipment or extra service, don't raise your price. These things need to be free because they are good for you. How about the myriad of forms a business has to file? Heaven forbid different departments use the same form or allow you to file electronically. Why do some departments need 7 copies of one form?
Setting a budget has nothing to do with reality Let me use the school budget as an example. To set a school budget, start with the mandates (funded or not), contractual requirements, legal requirements and everything else imposed on the district. Then, if you can, add in the flexible items. The flexible items are those that enrich student life like sports teams, gifted programs, music and art beyond certain minimums. Imagine we rolled back school legislation and made every public school more like a charter school. We could spend our time educating students instead of fulfilling mandates - and spend less money!
There is safety in numbers. There is safety in longevity. New York City has the numbers, so they get the funding. Longer serving politicians appear to have their requests filled. Those that talk about something long enough and loud enough, make it a priority.
Budget items have a tradition. I've always wondered why my county has a golf course. It's nice to have a golf course, but it's not a necessity. To me, budget items should be life's necessities. It makes me wonder how many things in the state budget are golf course type events. Health, safety, education - those are priorities. If the state or county wants things like golf courses, they should cash flow themselves. Oops, there I go again, thinking like a business person.
That's my political two cents for the day - I'd love to see things change, but don't hold out much hope.
A toast to common sense!
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